It's been a tumultuous couple of years for the once undisputed champion of the robot vacuum cleaner world, iRobot.
In January 2024 Amazon's $1 billion+ takeover collapsed due to insurmountable regulatory pressure and, just under 2 years later at the end of 2025, iRobot officially pulled the Chapter 11 lever.
The company behind the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner entered a pre-packaged bankruptcy process and lined up its Chinese contract manufacturer, Picea Robotics, as a buyer.
But that hasn't stopped perhaps one of the most exciting iRobot launches in recent years from taking place.
The new iRobot Roomba Mini is the smallest Roomba the brand has ever produced, shrinking the familiar circular cleaner down to a footprint designed to slip into tight spots around the home, while still offering both vacuuming and mopping.
The Mini measures 24.5cm in diameter and is 9.2cm tall, making it dramatically smaller than the typical Roombas and rivals from other brands.
Most mainstream models, including larger machines like the iRobot Roomba Max 505 Combo, are roughly 34cm wide, which means the new Mini is almost 10cm narrower across its body.
That difference may not sound huge on paper, but it should make a big difference in practice. A smaller robot can slip between chair legs, clean under tighter furniture and get into corners that bulkier machines often miss.
This is not entirely new territory though; SwitchBot has already pushed the ultra compact robot idea with the likes of the SwitchBot K10+ and SwitchBot K11+.
Those robots measure about 24.8cm across and 9.2cm tall, putting them almost exactly in the same size class as the new Roomba Mini.
Despite the smaller body, the Roomba Mini still handles both vacuuming and mopping. Disposable pads take care of the wet cleaning side, trapping dust and grime while leaving a light citrus scent behind once the job is finished.
Navigation is handled by ClearView LiDAR, which allows the robot to map rooms, move around clutter and avoid carpets when mopping.
Like many of the brand's higher end models, the Mini also supports a self-emptying system. The bundled AutoEmpty Dock transfers debris into an AllergenLock bag that can hold up to three months of dirt before needing to be replaced.
Cleaning can be started from the Roomba Home app, triggered through voice assistants such as Alexa or the Google Assistant, or simply launched by pressing the button on the robot itself.
The robot was originally developed with smaller homes in mind, with the Japan market targeted originally.
However, Nico Meurger, vice president for EMEA at iRobot said: "We quickly learned that this little robot is also perfect for European homes, thanks to its compact design that easily navigates smaller spaces and adapts to a variety of floor plans."
The Mini launched in Japan in mid-February, where the black version has already sold out.
Now the company is bringing it to Europe and the UK. The iRobot Roomba Mini is available in pink, mint, white and black, and costs €399 in Europe or £379 in the UK.
That includes the robot along with the AutoEmpty Dock. There's no word on a US launch as of yet.